What To Do With Pork Tenderloins

I have not been buying Pork Tenderloins much.  While visiting the Costco down in Altamont Springs, FL, I noticed the section of Tenderloins was half empty.  As a Foodie, I wondered what everyone was doing with them.  I decided to join in and I bought 3 packages.  I'd find some recipes for them.

Pork Chops can become dry, even when cooked on the grill.  Pork Roasts are just too much for the 2 of us to eat, how many leftovers do you want?  So I searched around, and discovered a few recipes that I thought I would share.  I will make both of these recipes again, probably the only ones I'll make, and use up the Pork Tenderloins I bought at Costco.  One package comes with 2 separate Tenderloins.  One thing I did discover is that in the future, I will open each package of Tenderloins and freeze them seperating them into 2 packages.

I have 2 recipes that I made this week with 1 package of Pork Tenderloins.
This recipe below I got from Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country.
The link is:  https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/4768-portuguese-style-grilled-pork-cutlets?ref=new_search_experience_2&extcode=

A introduction to the recipe reads:

For the best flavor and texture in our Portuguese-Style Grilled Pork Cutlets, we preferred to make our own cutlets by cutting a pork tenderloin into four pieces and pounding them to a uniform thickness. Prepackaged cutlets often had shredded edges and irregular sizes that lead to uneven cooking. We grilled the cutlets using high heat, leaving them on one side for most of the cooking time, and then finishing them for about a minute on the other side. This technique gave the meat a chance to brown and allowed the cutlets to develop a nice char.

Olive oil, paprika, sugar, red pepper flakes, garlic, and cilantro formed the base of the sauce. We set aside some of this infused oil to rub on the cutlets before grilling and whisked lemon juice and fresh parsley into the rest of the oil to make a flavorful serving sauce.

Portuguese Style Grilled Pork Cutlets

I followed this recipe exactly as written.  I used 1 tenderloin, and the infused oil/sauce is excellent.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

6 garlic cloves, sliced thin

3 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

2 pork tenderloins (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total), each cut into 4 equal pieces and pounded 1/4 inch thick (see note)

1. Combine oil, paprika, sugar, pepper flakes, and garlic in bowl. Microwave until garlic is softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Reserve 2 tablespoons infused oil, then whisk lemon juice and parsley into remaining oil mixture and season with salt and pepper.

2. Pat cutlets dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Rub cutlets all over with reserved infused oil. Grill pork over hot fire until lightly charred on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip cutlets and grill until just cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Drizzle with sauce. Serve.

The next recipe I made with the Pork Tenderloins was Breaded Pork Cutlets (Pork Schnitzel).

The site offers a video on the preparation here.  I'm not sure you will be able to view it, if you aren't subscribed to the Cook's Illustrated site.  I did not make the breadcrumbs from scratch, rather I used Progresso Italian Seasoned crumbs.  I just used some oil (not 2 cups) to fry them, in a fry pan, (not a Dutch Oven).  Also I like to dry my breaded meats on a rack for at least 15 minutes.

The Introduction reads:

While classic Wiener schnitzel features a thin, tender veal cutlet coated in ultrafine bread crumbs and then fried until puffy and golden brown, many recipes—to avoid the toughness and high price of veal—substitute pork. But too often these recipes yield dry, tough pork cutlets with greasy coatings. We wanted tender pork cutlets with the crisp, wrinkled, puffy coating that is Wiener schnitzel’s signature.  Dismissing pork chops and prepackaged cutlets, we chose tenderloin, which has a mild flavor similar to veal and isn’t tough. We cut the tenderloin crosswise on an angle into four pieces, which when pounded thin gave us long, narrow cutlets that would fit two at a time in the pan. Schnitzel is breaded with the usual flour, egg, and bread-crumb sequence of coatings, but we had to figure out how to get the characteristic puffiness and “rumpled” appearance of the finished cutlets; with good schnitzel you should be able to slide a knife between the meat and the coating. Drying bread in the microwave produced extra-dry crumbs that helped with the crispness, and a little vegetable oil whisked into the egg helped separate the coating from the meat. But the real breakthrough was in the frying method: Instead of sautéing the cutlets, we cooked them in a Dutch oven in an inch of oil, shaking the pot to get some of the oil over the top of the meat. The extra heat quickly solidified the egg in the coating, so that the steam from the meat couldn’t escape and puffed the coating instead. With the traditional schnitzel garnishes of lemon, parsley, capers, and a sieved hard-cooked egg, these cutlets, with their tender meat and crisp coating, delivered on all fronts.

7 large high-quality sandwich bread slices, crusts removed, cut into ¾-inch cubes (about 4 cups)

½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pork tenderloin (1 ¼ pounds), trimmed of fat and silver skin and cut on angle into 4 equal pieces

Salt and ground black pepper

GARNISHES

1 lemon, cut into wedges

2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

SERVES 4

The two cups of oil called for in this recipe may seem like a lot—but they’re necessary to achieve a wrinkled texture on the finished cutlets. When properly cooked, the cutlets absorb very little oil. To ensure ample cooking space, a large Dutch oven is essential. In lieu of an instant-read thermometer to gauge the oil’s temperature, place a fresh (not dry) bread cube in the oil and start heating; when the bread is deep golden brown, the oil is ready.

1. Place bread cubes on large microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high power for 4 minutes, stirring well halfway through cooking time. Microwave on medium power until bread is dry and few pieces start to lightly brown, 3 to 5 minutes longer, stirring every minute. Process dry bread in food processor to very fine crumbs, about 45 seconds. Transfer bread crumbs to shallow dish (you should have about 11/4 cups crumbs). Spread flour in second shallow dish. Beat eggs with 1 tablespoon oil in third shallow dish.

2. Place pork, with 1 cut-side down, between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound to even thickness between 1/8 and 1/4 inch. Season cutlets with salt and pepper. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge cutlets thoroughly in flour, shaking off excess, then coat with egg mixture, allowing excess to drip back into dish to ensure very thin coating, and coat evenly with bread crumbs, pressing on crumbs to adhere. Place breaded cutlets in single layer on wire rack set over baking sheet; let coating dry 5 minutes.

3. Heat remaining 2 cups oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it registers 375 degrees on instant-read thermometer. Lay 2 cutlets, without overlapping, in pan and cook, shaking pan continuously and gently, until cutlets are wrinkled and light golden brown on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to paper towel-lined plate and flip cutlets several times to blot excess oil. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Serve immediately with garnishes.